The day has finally come: Galatune has arrived in Dayton! This has been a long awaited moment for many fans, local and otherwise. So why not celebrate at our favorite board gaming bar with free cake and pizza this Saturday? The itinerary for the evening is as such: 6pm: Party starts! Free pizza available, open gaming begins, and the Galatune store opens for the very first time! Did you back at a level that gets you a copy and some swag? Pick it up early! 7pm: Big group photo which Adam will probably frame in his apartment like a sentimental nerd! … Read more

Confession time: I’ve never felt terribly comfortable doing reviews here on GeekDayton. Frankly, I’m very easily entertained, which is not what you want in a critical viewpoint. For reference, here’s some films I admit to enjoying: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows (which even got a review on this very site) Short Circuit 2 The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 And there’s not much distinction between enjoying “bad” movies and just enjoying bad movies. I enjoy Drive Angry, a Nicolas Cage film in which he plays a grandfather who drives … Read more

Man, there’s a lot of movie news flying at our faces every day now that there’s like 80 different cinematic universes to deal with. Here’s my attempt to pare down some of that into nuggets of fun (most of the nuggets are not fun). THERE MIGHT BE A MATRIX REBOOT The Hollywood Reporter reported an exclusive story that Warner Bros. is in very early stages of developing a reboot of the Keanu Reeves classic. This is a very bad idea. Joel Silver, producer of the original trilogy, is reportedly spearheading the project and pushing it to exist despite the cries … Read more

This Saturday, Dayton has not one, but two excellent events to check out! DayCon Game Day Running from 9AM to 10PM, come check out a day filled with tabletop gaming of all sorts! Board games, roleplaying games, and more are all here to be played. The show is held in the Rona Banquet Hall, located at 1043 Rona Parkway, Fairborn, Ohio 45324. For a full schedule of games, click here. Studio Akumakaze’s Independent Creators Expo and Film Festival I.C.E. is both a showcase of local creators and a film festival showing local films! With events running all day long, there’s no … Read more

Hi, folks! I hope your holidays were filled with good times and lots of games. But I’m not writing this to small talk about family gatherings, so let’s just jump right into another edition of how to Build Your Board Game Collection For a Dollar a Day! If you’re just joining us, make sure you check out the first installment of the series here. This time around I’m gonna talk about cooperative games. On the off-chance you can’t figure it out from the descriptor “cooperative,” these are games where everyone wins together or everyone loses. What about the tension from … Read more

Every regular gaming group probably has a game like this. This isn’t the game you pull out for new players, established players’ visiting significant others, or children. This is the nitty-gritty, friendship-demolishing, table-flipping, night-ending monstrosity. Here’s ours. To preface, my game night group is already a mess. It’s a ragtag group of broke late-teens/early-20s barely-cognizant piles of stress and medical issues. For some reason, we all get together about once a week to play a couple terrible, awful games. Betrayal at House on the Hill, The Resistance, Jenga, Coup, just all the most soul-numbing possible games for people who already suffer … Read more

Sup nerds: An apology of sorts- Recently we had to remove an article from our site, the Facebook and our Twitter. I won’t go into the details, suffice it to say we had something submitted to us by a guest author that we posted. Recently, we had the actual original creator send us an email calling out the theft. He was real mad. Shit. I’m not justifying the stealing. Here’s the issue: Writing is tough. Writing on a consistent basis is tough. Having people other than me write, write consistently, and write good things that other people want to read… is … Read more

If you’ve somehow missed all the news about the new board game/craft beer bar opening up in Kettering, I’m impressed. Not the good kind of impressed, though. You should really get out more, this place is awesome. I got a sneak peek a couple weeks back, and I can safely report that Andrew Sparks and Chrissy Cooper, owners of D20 and co-conspirators in the art of “turning (their) hobbies tax-deductible”, definitely know their stuff. I was hopelessly outclassed by Andrew’s knowledge of craft beer, coming from his wealth of experience in both drinking and selling it. With 20 taps serving 18 beers … Read more

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been force-fed the standard “Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” etc. Well, maybe not ever since I can remember, as I recall watching “The Nightmare on Elm Street” and “The Toxic Avenger” as a six year old. Ever since I can remember my parents realizing the choices they make with regard to what my impressionable brain was exposed to, I had to endure the mundane, albeit well produced, crap the masses said was appropriate for the yule tide. While I still have nostalgia for the stop-action Abominable Snow Man (mostly … Read more

I’m probably not supposed to have an opinion on girly comics, but let’s go! Doug reads girl comics I picked up Hawkeye this past week. No more Cliff, we’re in Kate-town now. Katherine “Kate” Bishop, a relatively new character in the Marvel Universe, she was released in 2005. She takes over the Hawkeye mantel now and again. One issue down and I’m already hooked. I went back to my LCS and told them to add Hawkeye to my pull list. “Add that girl Hawkeye book to my list.” I realized something then, I read a fair amount of comics with female … Read more

Well I have no idea if I’m the best choice to write this one, about habits, but here we go- How to reduce or end your collecting habit. There are a number of reasons you might need to cut back or completely stop a collecting habit- -Spending too much money -Spending too much time -Getting out of hand -Running out of space -Lost desire in the habit -Lack of focus on important things There are probably others, I’m just naming the things people have told me that I do. Breaking the collecting habit can be tough for many of us. … Read more

So, you want to play boardgames but don’t want to spend a lot of money. It can pretty easily be done with a little creativity and time. The first, most important tip: Don’t buy games. To expand on that “Don’t”, I don’t mean “Don’t” entirely of course. I’m saying play before you buy. Find a boardgame group and play their games before you buy any. You’ll have a better idea what kinds of games really work for you. If you find a group that you start attending regularly, you won’t waste money duplicating games that are already common in the … Read more

We’ve talked to Jim Tramontana before. It was a while back, when we bumped into him at Gem City Comic Con. Back then, he was promoting his comic book Vikings vs Unicorns #1, a gorgeous and disturbing trip into a universe where the unicorns are the bad guys. Now he’s trying to get us to crowdfund his latest effort, the even more disturbing Martians vs Unicorns, a bit of backstory into the Unicorns universe. Jim has other notable projects, too. His band, Red Hot Rebellion, successfully Kickstarted their graphic novel/cd combo, The Mission, a couple years back. He is also hard at work designing … Read more

A board game collection for a dollar a day!? That’s right. Hello, fellow gamers! I’m a new contributor here, and a long-time gamer of various sorts. Like many folks, there’s not much money in my budget for entertainment, but I’ve been working on expanding my modest tabletop gaming collection recently. I’ve been playing games for a long time. I grew up with an Atari 2600 and NES in the house. In middle school, I got into Magic and tabletop RPGs. I’ve worked in two different comic and game stores, which helped me branch out into more obscure card and board … Read more

Remember that time I wasted a good chunk of a Friday? You see, I spent that time driving around to various stores. Why? Oh, well… First- Dear NES Classic “collectors” who bought out the stores en masse. Fuck You. Sorry. Not collectors. Shitbag resellers who should die in some sort of terrible way I have nothing to do with. You know who you all are. For those who don’t know, Friday was the release of the NES Classic. A small gimmicky console that has 30 original NES games on it. It released and became virtually unattainable due to low stock in … Read more

Hello, maniacs! It’s been a while. Your intrepid Ms. Voodoo has been celebrating all things Halloween and generally running amok for the last month or so. Now that it’s all over, I must admit that I’m a bit blue. I’ve been looking for something creepy to lift my spirits and I’ve found it in the Dayton music scene. We are so lucky that we have some home-grown horror bands here in Dayton. Two of them have shows coming up this month that are just the ticket to soothe that post-Halloween depression. Have you heard of The Transylvania Hellhounds? If you … Read more

Nintendo Switch No Nintendo, you stay the same, I’ll change. I rag on Nintendo a lot here. It’s not that I hate Nintendo, quite the opposite. See, it’s like this. Anyone have that friend who’s essentially a nice person, but… goddammit, what a mess, yeah? They just have the shittiest luck, the worst ideas, sparks of brilliance that are immediately dashed when they over-do it. You know the type? For me, let’s name him, Calvin. (He probably doesn’t read my stuff anyhow.) I was once a passenger in a car accident with Calvin. True stories. The sun created a glare on … Read more

Cuz it’s Halloween. Until Dawn for PS4. A survival horror game. Finally. It’s spooky, and perfectly themed for the season. Made by Supermassive Games, who are mostly known for a whole lot of Little Big Planet DLC, a remake of Killzone I put as much effort into as I did any other Killzone (own them all, finished none, just like everyone), and a Dr. Who game. Ok…. first of all. No one asked for a Dr. Who game. I’M NOT A FAN OF DOCTOR WHO, JUST WARNING YOU NOW. IT CONFUSES ME. Here’s my issue with Dr. Who. You ever stumbled … Read more

Collecting! Trent Reznor, on the topic of collecting, once said “I pick things up, I am a collector. And things, well things, they tend to accumulate.” Trent Reznor also looks like if Alan Rickman and Dylan McDermott had a child. Ain’t even mad about that. 20 years to grow into a face like that, fine. Most of the internet thinks the song is about depression and dwelling on the past. Not me pal, I think he’s just very adamant about his collection, whatever it might be. A misprint Beanie Baby collection that got out of hand, Jem & Rio Pacheco … Read more

Edit: This article is in reference to their first, unfortunately not-funded AEGIS Kickstarter. If you’d like to back AEGIS at this point in time, here’s the link to their updated, very likely to be funded one. You have until June 9th! Please note that any exact numbers/details in this article may not reflect the updated project, but it should be pretty close. AEGIS: Combining Robot Strategy Game by Zephyr Workshop is seeking funding on Kickstarter to the tune of $40,000. It’s based around a Voltron-esque team building premise where the ultimate goal is to put all 5 pieces of your robot together … Read more

Welcome, faithful readers, to our first Spit Take. After a while, we get tired of hearing ourselves blather on about things. So, we want to hear what you think. We’ll give you a little insight into the subject, then it’s up to you, yes YOU…no, not you…you…in the back, to tell us your take on it. It’s pretty much what the internet was designed to do; allow people to blow hard about things of which they know little. Shall we? What do creatives do during their time off from work? They create! That’s exactly what Pixar animators Andrew Coats and Lou … Read more

Behold! It is I, the GeekDayton Overlord! I am all and none! I am finite and infinite! I am light and dark! I control all that is and ever will be! I make a mean guacamole! My minions have news that is of great import, so listen! Oh, and if you want my guacamole recipe, just hit me up here. Doug here! Below are my top 10 favorite JRPGs from 1985 to 2008! Jokes. I won’t submit you to those horrors. Not today at least. Geek In Review! Where we bring you events from the past week and a heads-up … Read more

Your everyday carry (EDC) is all the things that you will (generally) have on your person if you leave the comfort of your home. Knives, multitools, watches, flashlights, flash drives, pens, and whatever else makes your daily life easier? That’s your EDC. EverydayCarry.com exists to document hundreds of peoples’ EDCs and how to buy the items contained in them. It’s a fantastic way to spend your time drooling over the contents of other people’s pockets. My personal favorite contains not just the standard “phone, wallet, knife, watch”, but also ChapStick, sunglasses, and a pink Dunkin Donuts donut with sprinkles. There are EDCs that … Read more

Greetings friends! Did you know GeekDayton has an Instagram page? We do! It’s chock full of pictures and…. pictures. Click the follow button and come with us into a world of photography we force-feed into your smart devices! But we’d been asked recently “Hello GeekDayton, who is buying all of those comics you post on your IG and what’s wrong with that person?” (I had to omit most of the swearing.) Why it’s none other than me! I’m very sorry. But now for those few who have noticed I have a tendency to pick up first issues of a lot of … Read more

Early this morning, mostly still asleep as I slinked into the bathroom, it occurred to me that waiting in line for god knows how long for a free cup of coffee with a bunch of crazed groupies might not be the best use of my time. Alas, fear of missing out, the great motivator, spurred me onward. I headed out to Ghostlight Coffee, one of more than 200 coffee shops across the country who, in partnering with Netflix to promote the Gilmore Girls revival A Year in the Life (coming November 25, 2016), gussied themselves up with Luke’s Diner swag … Read more

There’s a unique event going on this Friday and Saturday in Piqua. A small little convention, different from others, that started with a few friends and has grown into something else entirely. That event is Un-Con X. The whole thing started years ago as a concept imagined by a man named Joe Manning. Manning called it “The Camp Dover Peace Conference.” “He was retired military. He was retired from working, but he believed in a convention that was somewhat similar in structure to the dinner of Star Trek 6—the bringing together of the Federation and the Klingons—and so he envisioned … Read more

Hello, maniacs! It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! I can hardly contain my joy over the fact that Halloween approacheth. There’s so much going on in the area this month. It’s almost as though the rest of the world has finally joined the great big Halloween party that is my life. About time…geez. In fact, there’s so much to do that you might be a bit overwhelmed with choices. To make your selection a bit simpler, I’ve compiled a list of all of the spooky haps about town. I’ve included links for more info. Just click the red words! ** … Read more

GD Podshort- a PodLong version! We sit down with Andy, the creator of Cold Steel Wardens: Roleplaying In The Iron Age Of Comics. He runs the GeekDayton crew through a custom-made campaign of Cold Steel Wardens. The Cast- Larry: Silence- A dark brooding stealth-based girl Josher: CamShaft- A Cybernetic scientist with a robot arm Doug- Caidera- A South American street-tough turned goodguy! Andy: Andy The GM! A note about the system- The game only uses D10s for rolls. As for the info at the end, this was recorded a while back. Who knew that Cold Steel Wardens: Rogues Gallery would fund their Kickstarter? WE … Read more

(This is the third post in our interview series with a Bigfoot hunter who wishes to remain anonymous. If you didn’t read the first two in the series, click here.) GD: What is your opinion of Sasquatch’s intelligence level and their instinctive behavior when it comes to themselves as either individuals or a society? Do you have an opinion on how they are so successfully reclusive? Mr. X: Well they are probably one of the most intelligent lifeforms on earth, besides humans. They know the woods as well as Native Americans before European settlers and share their skill level. They (Native … Read more

MERRY BOARD GAME NIGHT EVE, YA’LL. It’s like Christmas!!!… If you just sit around and play board games and drink. So… like Christmas. Now I’m not going to bore you all with a re-hash of the last Board Game Night How-To. (which is available to read here, here, and here.) Oh no no. Today I come to you with a different How-To. Specifically focusing on points 3 and 4 of the Board Game Night How–To. (Real sorry about that.) Talking to people and making friends! If you already have friends, well good. We’re all very impressed with you. You must … Read more

Holy crap! Do we have some amazing prizes for you this time around! Big thanks to all of the generous bands, comic creators, game designers, and shops that so graciously donated these items to help us help ExtraLife of Dayton. Rules: Must be present to win. You may win more than one prize pack. We’ll also be doing “runner-up” drawings for band t-shirts, winner’s choice of size, while supplies last. Winners of prize packs may win runner-up shirt drawings in future drawings, but may not win runner-up of a drawing that they won the prize pack for. If there’s a … Read more

Day 165 is a new comic seeking funding on Kickstarter. If you only took a cursory glance at its cover, which features two army men discharging firearms, you’d think it was just a war comic. But Day 165 is more than that. Drawing inspiration from the great old supernatural anthology shows that were once a mainstay of prime time TV programming, Day 165 takes readers on a sci-fi romp. We talked to co-creator of Day 165, Springfield, Ohio native Tony Wright, to find out why anyone should want to part with their precious dollars to back his comic. Why on earth should anyone care … Read more

Hi there, maniacs. It’s Ms. Voodoo again, this time with a review of Rob Zombie’s latest flick, 31. I must preface the review by making a small admission: I am absolutely smitten with Rob Zombie. I can’t help it. He just slays me. In fact, I have often referred to him as my future ex-husband, much to the chagrin of my current beau, um Beau. I’m sure he and Sherri will understand when they see us together. We’ll be too gruesomely adorable to hate for long and too gruesomely gruesome to attempt to split up. It’s gonna be a thing. … Read more

Gaming with your significant other! The 2014 US Census claims that 50% of all Americans are “single.” Lies. If that was true, I wouldn’t be having such a hard time on Farmersonly.com. Of course this also doesn’t take into consideration all of the people who are dating, common law marriage, living in SIN, engaged, living with two ladies, or that awkward time where ya’ll broke up, but ya’ll still living together because shit’s weird, ya’ll know. It gets better tho. Realistically, there’s probably someone out there that you could consider an S/O. (I mean… if there isn’t, come to Board Game … Read more

(This review originally ran at GhettoblasterMagazine.com) KLASK (Oy Marektoy) I have to say, I’m not a major fan of games that require me to overcome my deficit of physical prowess in order to win. Often, my own hand-eye coordination takes on an adversarial quality when I attempt to harness it as a tool toward victory. If I were a D&D character, my dex modifier would be like -2. However, I am able to see past my deficiencies when it comes to the game Klask. Klask is basically like air hockey or foosball in that it is played on a table … Read more

(This is the second post in our interview series with a Bigfoot hunter who wishes to remain anonymous. If you didn’t read the first in the series, click here.) GD: Are you familiar with the B.F.R.O. or Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization? Mr. X: Yeah (chuckles). GD: Is this something you actively participate in and read? Mr. X: No. At first, I thought it was something cool. I have used some of their maps; however, I hear that they have a lot more sightings that they just don’t put on there. A lot of the people I listen to think that … Read more

There are certainly much worse ways to spend a weekend than making new friends for a few days of competition in an arcade setting. A 3-day contest of fighting game prowess is sure to test the hand-eye coordination of even the most worthy and formidable gamer. This weekend, Robin Palm plans to give you just that. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, where he organized the Civil War fighting game tournament series, Robin has taken his event and moved it Westward. Taking place at Arcade Legacy in the Cincinnati Mall, Civil War: Manifest Destiny will be a fight to the finish. “The … Read more

Shakycam (also known as Queasicam, Hand-held cam, or free cam) is considered to be a cinematographic technique. A technique? Seriously? Let me explain. So I’ve all but completely stopped watching movies made in… oh… the last decade or so? Why you ask? Well, hang on. In movies, tv, and live action, pretty much anything that has film or tape involved, you can have a cinematographer (also known as a director of photography). What do cinematographers do? The cinematographer selects the camera, film stock, lens, filters, etc., to realize the scene in accordance with the intentions of the director. Relations between the cinematographer and director vary; … Read more

With this past week marking the 23rd anniversary of one of my favorite TV shows of all time, I felt it was only fitting that my post talks to parents about the show that I loved as a child, Power Rangers. This show has been going at it for 23 years. Although it has changed over the years, the core show remains the same. This is one of the many reasons that I love it just as much today as I did as a child. Before I start into my usual Q&A, I want to give a little history of … Read more

I noticed something the other day while watching a movie, and now I can’t seem to stop noticing it: girls in boxes. Yep. So many movies have girls in boxes! Glass boxes, specifically, though I started noticing all kinds. Now the same thing could start happening to you. It might start when you are innocently exploring the career paths of the cast from Dawson’s Creek and happen upon a movie you haven’t seen in decades… …then you start remembering it in other films you’ve watched. (To be fair, Kim Cattrall may have requested this setup. Andrew McCarthy was not known … Read more

All of my systems in No Man’s Sky are named after every video arcade from my youth. Not ‘hey, I’m going to name this one after a video arcade, and this one after my first pet, and this one after my favorite Taco Bell item from my youth.’ I’m saying every system. Named after every arcade. At least the ones I went to. So flying through my galaxies, you’ll see such systems as Spare Change, Cap’n Bogey’s Golf’n Games, and The Area-51 Machine outside of the Xenia Wal-Mart. As for the planets? Those are all named after video arcade cabinets … Read more

It’s that time of year again, maniacs. You know what I mean. The world turns orange, the pumpkin spice starts to flow, and seemingly every entertainment website publishes its Horror Top 10 list for the best scary movies of all time. These lists are supposed to guide the seasonal horror viewer to the must-see, can’t-miss, gotta-watch-with-the-lights-out films that have become the staples of October viewing. But do they? I can’t help but feel that these lists have become a bit…well…predictable. They usually refer to the same old horror chestnuts every year without much variation from site to site. Those of … Read more

(Note: This post is part of a series of posts interviewing a sasquatch hunter. Each week, GeekDayton will post another piece of the interview.) Not everything in the world has been explained. Not every animal has been discovered. The ancient city of Troy was found after thousands of years of being classified as legend. Mountain Gorillas, Okapi, Giant Panda, Giant Squid; all of these creatures had remained a mystery up until the 20th century. 15,000 species are being discovered annually with scientists estimating that there are about 8.7 million species on the planet (currently we know of about 1.3 million). … Read more

Writer’s Note: I’m pretty heavily entrenched in “non-biased” territory writing about most Ohio anime conventions. Being an executive-level staffer at Kabochacon has blessed me with the friendship of head staff at many events I’ll be mentioning below. I’ve been going to some of these events literally a decade longer than I ever became a con staffer though, so it’s not like I don’t have plenty experience as an attendee too. A conversation with some people this past weekend at Matsuricon led me to re-remember that Dayton has definitely lucked out in terms of location when it comes to cons. Not … Read more

Rax and the quest for a reclaimed childhood There had been rumors, legends mostly, of a still existing and operating Rax Roast Beef in Ohio. (I’d known of and visited the one in Circleville. While the name and appearance are correct, it pales in comparison to what my memories displayed.) Could it be true? A real life Rax that had somehow completely been missed by the ravages of time and Southern Ohio? Sure, there are a few down south, and tales of them elsewhere, but those simply didn’t capture the true essence of my childhood Rax. You see, Xenia had a Rax. … Read more

Did you know that right here, in the Miami Valley, we have a real, live role-playing game designer? That’s right, kids! His name is Andy Klosky, and he’s the brains behind Blackfall Press. His game, Cold Steel Wardens, is more fun than a turkey baster of grain alcohol! Klosky, who grew up in Western Pennsylvania, has been playing games since he was in the 6th grade. Like many game designers born in the ’80s, he made his first games by tinkering with the cardboard terrain and plastic miniatures from his Heroquest set. When he grew up, he moved to Ohio … Read more

GD PODSHORT ROUND 2. Andy of Cold Steel Wardens: Roleplaying in the Iron Age of Comics, sits down with the GeekDayton team to present his awesome RPG, and talk about his currently-in-Kickstarter expansion to Cold Steel Wardens. Kickstarter for Rogues Gallery here! We’re backing it, are you?? Look for the interview to be published soon! In the meantime, below is a snippet from the interview where Andy tells us a story about his foray into Vampire: The Masquerade LARP.

Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorn A WARNING FOR IDIOTS: Cursed Child is technically the eighth book in the Harry Potter series. This review assumes you’ve gotten around to reading the others in the full decade since the last one came out. If you haven’t, you can always tell the clerk at Barnes&Noble you’re buying them for your kid. Spoilers ahoy! Reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child feels like someone somewhere scoured the internet for its tens of thousands of Potter fanfictions, isolated the three dozen or so good … Read more

Hello everyone. It is time for another question-and-answer with your favorite Geek Dad. I’m back to help you understand something your kids love, but you just can’t seem to wrap your head around. Hopefully, this will help you connect with your child. This week, we are gonna talk about a kids’ toy that seems to be gaining a lot of popularity these last few years, Nerf. So, what is Nerf? While the term Nerf can refer to a lot of things, this guide is going to be referring to Nerf as in Nerf the company. Nerf is a company (part of … Read more

I love whimsy. Whimsical stuff. But not like cutesy whimsy. More like fantasy whimsy, but like teen fantasy. No…. not like that though. Think like…. Treasure Planet meets Monster House meets National Treasure meets Haunted Mansion meets Harry Potter meets The Woods. Mash that all together. I love that. That sort of cartoony, kid-esque, fantasy realm? yeah? No? That. Love that nonsense. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of the current comics and video games, what with their action and excitement and the such. But there’s a part of me that just enjoys the simpler stories. Simple in the … Read more

When Lindsey Kessel told me her favorite video game of all time, I have to say I was a little surprised. “A Boy and His Blob,” the 31-year-old aspiring entrepreneur says. “I love it. I also love Bubble Bobble.” The mother of three had rattled off two unexpected entries from the video game treasury. Describing herself as a lifelong gamer, Kessel says she got her first NES at the age of 7. “My grandma actually is a gamer,” Kessel tells me. “She has been gaming since I can remember. I used to get in fights with her because I’d be like, ‘Can … Read more

Attention Parents! With the recent release of Pokémon Go, I’m sure a lot of you are asking yourself a lot of questions. You are in luck, because I just so happen to be a parent, lover of nerdy culture, and a Pokémon player! I am here to introduce you into the world of Pokémon, and hopefully answer a lot of the questions that you have. Now before we begin, I know what a lot of you younger parents are thinking. Yes, this is the same Pokémon that you remember as a child. Both the game and the cartoon are still … Read more

We’re trying something new with the GD Podshort. Recorded a few months ago. Comic delays hurt people on all levels, it’s a serious issue. Let us know what you think about PodShorts! The pants or the audio clips. Follow us on SoundCloud, and wherever you get your podcasts.

My friend Bacon texted me and told me she had to take a trip to California. On her way back, she wanted to stop off here in Arizona and hangout. We have a somewhat lax competition to see who can go to more paranormal places and then brag about it to the other person. It started on her birthday one year when we went to Bobby Mackey’s Music World in Kentucky and took the basement tour. She was scared the whole time but I was a rock, completely dependable. It’s not like a loud bang happened and I threw her … Read more

If it isn’t obvious, yes, this will contain spoilers. About an hour before I saw it, I tweeted “About to see Suicide Squad. If BvS was anything to take a pattern from, I’m sure I’ll love this long-form trailer for the Harley Quinn movie.” And at the time, I thought I was joking. But no, as I expected/feared/hoped, Harley Quinn was the best part of the movie by a long shot. Don’t get me wrong, the rest of the cast has its moments, but as a whole, it’s… messy. And you’d think that was what they were going for with their whole … Read more

Don’t judge a book by its cover. What it means: You shouldn’t base an opinion on something just because of how it looks. NO NO NO. I’m not making this a race thing. You get right out. Right now. I’m making this a comics/video games/movie/board games thing. So yeah. You should absolutely judge a book (book meaning video game, board game, movie or comic…book) by it’s cover unless noted, suggested, or influenced to do otherwise. Here’s why. Advertisement of said product is a necessity in this day and age. They (the world) suggests that the average comic book reader spends … Read more

As of this writing, I leave for Gen Con in 9 8 less than 7 hours (That time flew by. Shit). In that time, I have to pack everything I need for a 5 day trip, finish this article, pick up a replacement state ID, and maybe eat a meal or sleep or something. This year will be my 13th Gen Con. I started in 2004, and I’ve been every year since. You’d think having been going so long, I’d know not to procrastinate like this, but I am not a clever man. So, in an effort to teach others to … Read more

Willow, George Lucas and Ron Howard’s 1988 film, is the unsung fantasy/action epic of the ‘80s. While it may not be regarded as a masterpiece of cinematography or have won any awards, and it might be fundamentally flawed among similar films in that it does not star any Muppets, Willow will always have a very special piece of this writer’s heart. Let’s explore the many reasons why. 1. Willow is a total underdog. Though he is loved by his cute kids and wife, and he is well regarded by his bestie, Meegosh, everyone one else thinks Willow is kind of … Read more

Walking out of the Monday night screening of Batman: The Killing Joke, my friend described to me that he felt “like a shaken soda can left to decarbonate overnight instead of just exploding.” He’s not wrong. I saw the movie with a good test audience. Two people, one of which was me, had read the titular comic before. Two other people hadn’t, but had a semi-general idea of what the storyline would be. And for once, DC Comics has pulled off the impossible: equalizing people who had or hadn’t read the source material. We all walked out of that movie expecting more, even those … Read more

and it was at that moment, the players realized….. that Nintendo….. WASN’T EVEN MAKING THE GAME! AAAAAAHHHH!!! Nintendo. Come on. You had it all going for you!! Amazing mobile game (ssssshhhh, no one knew it wasn’t yours) A super mysterious and unknown future system! No stupid tiny system. Oysters, more specifically the world became your bivalve mollusc. Months later. What like… two? Months? Ya Blew it. Now you have: Barely a mention of having any involvement in Pokemon Go. So, on the PG wiki, Nintendo is listed a number of times. But it basically says the concept of the game was … Read more

When I first started out in photography, the hardest thing for me to do was take my camera out of ‘auto’ mode. I had this nice, new, shiny DSLR. I thought I was hot stuff. I had a camera that needed a neck strap. A neck strap that said ‘Nikon’ in big, bold, yellow Nikon font that I made sure was facing out at all times so people knew I was using a nice camera. The problem was that shooting photos in ‘auto’ meant that every picture looked the same as you’d get from a decent point-and-shoot camera. To solve … Read more

I love the recent run of Spider-Man titled Spidey. I also loved the short run of Learning to Crawl that came out with the refresh of Amazing Spider-Man #1. I simply adore the older Spider-Man cartoons, the good ones. You know the ones. Ok, maybe that wasn’t an entirely accurate representation of the cartoon, but actually somewhat close. In my mind, Spider-Man wasn’t supposed to be taken so seriously. Doc Ock and Peter Parker swapping brains because Doc Ock is dying and all that nonsense? That’s heavy. Spidey ain’t supposed to be so heavy. It features a reformed Otto Octavius who has taken … Read more

Countless articles have been written on where to begin if you’re just starting out in photography. So, you may be asking, “Hey, asshole, why should I read your article?” That’s a fair question to which I answer that I have no sponsors to whom I’m beholden, nor am I trying to sell you anything….except perhaps my soul if you can grant me life eternal. Without further ado, here are some absolute musts as a neophyte photographer. WARNING!! Obligatory insult to intelligence ahead! 1. The first thing you’ll need is a camera. I know. No effing duh! What kind of camera? Most … Read more

I was introduced to the original Ghostbusters sometime around 2005 with the release of the Double Feature DVD set. I was 7. Seeing it in a theater wasn’t something I experienced until earlier this year, nor did I experience the pop culture phenomenon of “He slimed me!” after the movie first came out. However, it was one of my first “favorite movies”, and it is one of two franchises that I recently purchased the large 30th Anniversary hardcover book of, which covers the series, cartoon, video game, and comics in great detail. It seems like everyone I know has a lot … Read more

by Jenner Lumpkin I have difficulty trusting those who lament the passing of their twenties. Perhaps they’re simply romanticizing a decade’s worth of flawless skin, hopeful first dates, and unbridled freedom. But I can’t be the only one who spent my twenties suffering steadfast blemishes, curious singledom, and a pestering awareness that the bottle of Two Buck Chuck that I had put on my credit card would eventually end up costing me $152 after years of only managing to make the minimum payments every month. I needed direction. I needed money. I needed a nap. When would this vague but … Read more

I lowered the difficulty on a game, and have never been happier. There’s a mindset amongst gamers (ok maybe just ones I know) where you didn’t actually play the game until you’ve beaten it on HARD. And even some who say you didn’t get the full experience without completing 100% of the objectives and achievements. Listen Linda, years ago my dad convinced me to eat that little sprig of parsley they served with steaks in fancy restaurants. He said I wasn’t completely done with my meal until I ate that. I learned two things back then. 1. My dad convinced me … Read more

The only thing that stays constant in comics is that Aquaman will eat fish at a restaurant and some asshole will ask him if it’s okay if he does that. Aside from that, your favorite character may become a woman or become a Muslim or maybe even a Hispanic boy, but it’s okay because in the end it’s just comics and I’m sure in another few months it’ll all go back to the way it was. You shouldn’t care about what sex or race your favorite character is as long as they’re being written well. Jason Aaron turned Jane Foster … Read more

I recently had the pleasure of playing Campo Santo’s Firewatch—a dialogue-weighted “hiking simulator” based in the 1989 Wyoming wilderness. This game is an experience both visually and emotionally. The voice acting in Firewatch is captivating, and the visuals whimsical. I’ve rarely come across a game that has torn me through a heart-wrenching plot within the first 5-10 minutes, let alone by using only interactive text on-screen. It does not cease to be an emotional rollercoaster throughout its several hours of gameplay. It’ll make you laugh out loud, it’ll make your eyes well up, and it’ll make you consider moving out … Read more

Though the franchise was launched a decade and a half before I was born, I have long had an affinity for the Planet of the Apes movies. Having first viewed them in high school, the movies instantly resonated with me. There’s just something about them. The social commentary expressed therein has been criticized as forced, and the delivery at times comes off as more than a little campy, but I view these characteristics as benefits rather than detriments. Based on Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel of the same name, the original film Planet of the Apes tackled such delicate topics as race, social … Read more

by Tim Engle There are lots of things you can adopt early: pets, children, and an air of sophistication all come readily to mind. There are, however, risks to adopting things; your pet might turn out to be a reincarnation of Ceausescu, your child may later come out as vegetarian, and your air of sophistication could easily be proven a sham when those pictures of you doing a solo keg stand at your best friend’s little sister’s birthday party surface. (I said I was sorry. I really thought you guys would think it was a fun goof.) The most … Read more

Remember how I was regaling everyone with stories about my smaller, younger, balder, bearded-er self? Back then? Well it got me thinking. Years ago, my Aunt had a computer in her basement. (I mean who didn’t in the early 90s), and it had Myst on it (what computer didn’t have Myst on it), and I played that Myst (what me in the early ’90s wouldn’t). Jeepers, old school point-and-clicks had a good life. Anyhoos… my Aunt still has that computer and still has Myst on it. But she’s older now. She never got a newer computer, and never really kept up with … Read more

There’s a popular image going around the Facebooks/Reddits/Twitters/probably other inferior image sharing websites. It goes something to the tune of this: “If you could have only one…” and then lists a bunch of cool items everyone would want like lightsabers and One Rings and the like. First off, obviously the answer is a Lantern Ring of your respective color, since that can pretty much make anything else you might want. Second of all, what if I told you that, for the measly price of all of the money you have, you could actually have cool things from movies you like? … Read more

What is a “maker?” Why the hell do they need a “faire?” Both very good questions. Unlike what Debbie Chachra of The Atlantic supposes in her article “Why I Am Not a Maker,” the term “maker” and the movement behind it are not the Ayn Rand-esque self-fellatio of Silicon Valley coders. This may be why she’s only written one article for The Atlantic. James Fellows wrote “Why the Maker Movement Matters“ for the same site about a year later. James Fellows continues to write a shit ton for The Atlantic. Just sayin.’ At their core, makers are people who use existing technology to … Read more

There’s too much bullshit to wade through as a new comic reader, and it can be really frustrating. I can’t count how many times I’ve had to convince myself that six dollars for one issue was a reasonable price only to have it be a disappointment (looking at you, Civil War II). I don’t need 47 different Avengers books or 16 different incarnations of Captain America and I feel like too much choice can be a pain in the ass when you’re first getting into picking up comics. I’m pretty new to all of this. I read the beginning of … Read more

This one’s gonna get real nerdy, heads up. Guy posted on Reddit that he had purchased custom longbox covers for his Lunar games for the Sega CD. “Check me out, I own every Lunar game made, still sealed.” This guy. Fuck that guy. Right in his fuck. Here’s my issue. It’s specifically with older expensive games. I really enjoy the Lunar series. I own exactly 1 of the games. Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. It’s terrific. I love the music, the art, the story, every last bit of it. It’s a remake of the 3rd in the series. OH HOW I WOULD LOVE … Read more

Star Trek is a special franchise with a special design scheme. It’s Saucer/nacelle “variation on a theme” is a cost effective approach to varying class types and building upon a proven design. It’s crazy to try and enumerate all of the Starships in the show, but plenty try to do so with a number of well put together websites highlighting any ship they can find and include. Usually these are broken into a few categories such as Federation ships, Klingon ships, Romulan ships, other alien ships, civilian ships, etc, and most of these ships have ample screen time to cement … Read more

Board Game Night at Proto Buildbar. Coming up soon. It got me thinking. You’re about to read something that I’ll never say again in my entire life. (Probably). Get the family all together in the room while you read this. Shut the tv off. Board games are better than video games in one way. But seriously, though. One way. I was asked to watch a “How To Play” video of a board game. It was like 30 minutes long. Early in the video, the guy mentioned how I had to also watch the core game “How To Play” video. It … Read more

In ‘How to Hunt VHS’, special VHS correspondent, Ryan Gelatin, risks life and limb to give us a never before seen look into the life of a VHS hunter. From Luddites to hillbilly racists, no peril is dangerous enough to keep Ryan from getting the story.

Hardcore gamers might be surprised to find that CEO Michael Coe, founder of Gamelyn Games, is not one of their ilk. “I don’t come from a hobbyist background, really,” he says from his home in Gilbert, Arizona, where he spoke with us by phone. “I did play board games when I was a kid, but it was very standard stuff like Monopoly and Sorry!” Coe eventually did graduate from those standards to something more exciting. “When I was in fourth grade my dad got a copy of Heroquest, and that resonated with me quite a bit when I was a kid.” But … Read more

Popping tags. It means to switch a more expensive price tag for a cheaper one, traditionally a technique used in retail stores by shoplifters. But at a thrift shop? What’s wrong with you? What exactly was Ben “Macklemore” Haggerty and Michael “Wanz” Wansley doing using this tried and true lifting scam at a thrift store, especially when they immediately admit to having $20 in their pockets? $20 would get you far at one of the Gem City thrift shops. Not the upscale ones, though. Maybe that’s it. Maybe Macklemore was at one of them. Those that border somewhere between trash … Read more

For the last two years, Zagar Games, comprised of Gargitt Au, Zack Connaughton, and Carl Huang, have been creating and testing their game, BetaBotz. The game, which adds bidding and negotiation elements to a basic card drafting mechanic similar to that found in Munchkin, is currently being Kickstarted as of the time of this writing. BetaBotz works like this: in the first round, players bid in-game currency, known as bitz, on the robot they like the best or think will be most effective at completing missions. Each robot has four stats: Agility, Firepower, Structure, and Processor. Different missions require different levels … Read more

In this episode of the podcast, Josher, along with GeekDayton writers Griffin and Doug, sit down with Tim Withem of Dayton-based game company Medieval Interactions Gaming. They discuss Medieval Interaction’s freshman offering, Mastermind’s Workshop, and the accompanying Kickstarter campaign. Tim talks about game development, the playtesting process, as well as future projects we can expect from MI Gaming. You can learn more about Mastermind’s Workshop and other games by visiting MI Gaming’s Facebook page here. If you like what you see, or if your heart isn’t made of stone and you like to see Dayton local start-ups succeed, back … Read more

Random question. Now who here has had a death-threat tossed at them at some point? Just me? Huh…. ok then. SO! There’s this upcoming video game that’s supposed to be the absolute cat’s pajamas. No Man’s Sky. It’s this space exploration simulation game for the PlayStation 4 that’s supposed to have randomized planets, lots of exploration, a whole galaxy to explore, randomly generated creatures to explore, and resources to explore for. It’s essentially a game about exploration. Beyond that and a few video trailers/game play footage, that’s about all we know. No Man’s Sky is made by a super super … Read more

I was in a local comic book shop, looking for Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars issue #8 in my ongoing quest to obtain the comics I had as a youth. You know, the one where Spider-Man comes in from a recent battle, costume in tatters, and Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic) just happens to have found a piece of alien tech that you can think into, and it will create what you thought of. Thus, the black spidey suit (and subsequently Venom) is born. I know. It’s a brilliant plot device. That’s how I remember it anyway. The shop didn’t … Read more

I love Spider-Man. Some would say too much. Spidey holds a very dear place in my heart as Spider-Man comics (as well as feminine hygiene products) were how I learned to read. In the vast domain known as comic books, I don’t think there has been a hero or villain with more costume changes than ol’ Spidey himself. I’m not trying to choose a favorite here, but I had this conversation within myself recently and we all just started arguing: Me: Oh, the classic red and blue is so fetching. I have no idea why they ever changed it in … Read more

If you’d come to me a few years ago and said, “Hey, remember that Michael Bay TMNT movie that came out and did terribly because the filmmakers fundamentally misunderstood that no one wants their childhood grittily rebooted? Well, in 2016, it’s going to get a sequel that you’re going to really like,” I’d have stopped you halfway through because I’d basically blocked out that whole movie. Pretty much all I remember is some kind of rooftop brawl with Shredder, and also the end was an explosion. That’s it. The new movie, out in theaters now, is a real surprise because it’s … Read more

Don’t lie. You knew immediately what I was talking about. And that quote isn’t even accurate. But you still knew. Hulksters, brother, hulksters. Wrestling! Squared circle! Sports entertainment! High-risk, high impact, high flying action! Whether you’ve smelled what The Rock is cooking, or ever found yourself stylin’ and profilin,’ you can at least recognize a handful of wrestling sayings and gimmicks. And you watch, you know you do. Whether you actively seek out wrestling, or it happens to be on while you’re channel-surfing, you know you stop for just a moment longer than other channels. Nothing to be ashamed about, … Read more

Peter Bell of Bell, Book and Comic talks Captain America: Steve Rogers #1, X-Men: Apocalypse and the Marvel Universe. Who would have thought seven days ago that the two words that would cause the most conflict and conversation in the comic shop would be “HAIL HYDRA!” Talk has been all about Captain America: Steve Rogers #1, which was released last week. The buzz hitting the interwebs has been appallingly negative toward the storyline unfolding, with Cap apparently turning to the “Dark Side.” The instant negativity is despite the fact that we haven’t seen more than one issue, and do not know the … Read more

Figures. Captured on video, floating in the sky above the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base last Saturday, is what most are calling a spaceship. Many years ago, I used to drive by there every day on my way to work. And every day I would look to the sky, thinking aliens have been here before, in this very spot. Then I would fantasize about seeing a ship up in the gray skies. It would fly low and hover around the base, where it could probably use it’s onboard sensors to read that one of their crashed ships was being hidden. Then … Read more

“I disagree. It’s a very good game, but I think Donkey Kong is the best game ever.” In case of confusion. The kid knew his stuff, though. MK on Genesis was regularly ranked higher than MK on any other system. And it was voted most controversial game in 1993. Somehow “Return to Zork” got passed up for that award that year. So, With the recent release of Uncharted 4, tagged with the accolades of “the greatest game ever made,” it’s time we sat down next to the fire, crowded into a Siamese Slanket, cozied up with a warm beefy crunch, … Read more

Sorry, folks. The Arkwright board game giveaway has ended. Here’s a photo of hot cosplay Mystique as a consolation. Don’t be blue though. We’ll be giving away more free stuff in the future. You can learn more about the game and how to order here. Keep visiting GeekDayton so you don’t miss the next contest! Thanks for stopping by.

Gamer Badges, by JBM Press, are iron-on achievement badges (i.e. embroidered patches) meant to show off your prowess as a game player to all who you may encounter. One can earn such badges as “Board Gamer,” “Con Veteran,” and “Shuffler,” for their accomplishments, and if one so desires, may display all of their Gamer Badges on a stylish sash created for that sole purpose. I talked to Phil Lacefield of the Washington-based JBM Press about Gamer Badges. Though the project has now been fully backed, with 9 days remaining as of this writing, JBM Press is hoping to fulfill some … Read more

So, I’m thinking about changing my name to Sam Malone here at the shop. I feel like the Cheers character lately, standing at my counter while my movie-watching customer base tells me all about their likes, dislikes, loves, hates, thrills, and disappointments on the latest DC and MARVEL blockbusters. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about this! Just feel the need to throw my own two cents in the ring and tell what I think. First off, Batman Vs. Superman was NOT that bad! Personally, I did not care for Lex and his Joker/Riddlerness, but that’s just me. … Read more

1.Shape-Shifting News Anchor Unbeknownst to most of the populace, there are human-like hybrids walking around, eating human flesh (just a guess) when no one is looking, and in some cases, they are hosting a news show on Fox News. What are they doing here? Have they always been here? Maybe formerly living in sewers and creek beds at the bottom of ravines until network news shows were created, and now they can blend in unquestioned. In this video, our camera operator (who we’ll call Chaw Packin’) has discovered a slip in the female anchors human cover. For a split second, … Read more

Pffffffffffft. *cough* Pfffffftttttffffhhhhhhhh. *squeak* *thunk* *press* wait.. wait… OH COME ON. Remember these days? Well fuck em. Cartridge-based games are dead. Except a few mutations. Can you name the last system/game to use a cartridge format? Surprise! It’s SNK’s Neo Geo, with their last game being Samurai Shodown V Special. I don’t blame you if you didn’t know that, hell I wasn’t even aware until recently. It was released in 2004. What the hell. That’s like yesterday. You’ll notice I avoided mentioning the PSP, DS, and Vita. See here’s the problem. The PSP, Vita and DS are all a form of … Read more

These images were originally posted as a companion slideshow to our podcast covering Stebbins CON and Game Night at Proto BuildBar. Slideshows suck for viewing images, and if we had put a clickable gallery up as a companion piece, it would have stopped the podcast you were listening to. You can find the podcast here. Enjoy! Stebbins CON Game Night @ Proto BuildBar

https://soundcloud.com/user-580691312/geekdaytonep-3 Josher and Larry walk the floor of Stebbins CON in Riverside, OH and speak with a local artist and the folks from World Paranormal Investigations. Afterward, they head over to the first board game night at Proto BuildBar, located on First St. in Dayton, OH. On the way they give their impression of of the con and the unfortunate reputation Dayton has received in the past for poor attenance. We finish off at Proto, where Josher geeks out over the amazing turnout and talks to people about the board gaming community while I make people uncomfortable by taking photos. Big … Read more

Here at GeekDayton HQ, we have a lot of people get in contact with us who want us to help promote their Kickstarter projects. We really want to help, but sometimes it can be hard to understand why we should care about these projects. So we’ve decided to start a new feature for this situation: Justify Your Kickstarter. In JYK, creators must tell us why they think their project is worth backing. Will they maintain their grace and poise when faced with such scrutiny? Or will they crack under the pressure, like your mama’s hard-boiled eggs, their gooey insides leaking … Read more

Let’s face it, it’s the era of the superhero movie. Comics left and right are being pried apart to find movie-worthy (or otherwise) enterprises. But, for those poor unappreciative souls who whimper “I don’t like superheroes…”, we have four alternatives. 1.Hancock Will Smith stars in this rare non-comic book superhero movie as a barely-recovering alcoholic god-like amnesiac who will shove your head up your accomplice’s ass if you cross him. He barely counts as a superhero, and it’s quite refreshing. He’s not implicitly for or against killing, but he does seem to put many criminals in some rather compromising positions (in … Read more

In Capstone Games’ Arkwright, players take control of factories in 18th century England, during that country’s industrial revolution. The game revolves around operating factories, hiring/firing workers, and upgrading the quality of your products, all while attempting to turn a profit. The idea is to get your stuff in the hands of the Victorian English, who may or may not even want your products, depending on how crappy/sweet they are. “Depending on the game model,” says Clay Ross, owner of Capstone Games, the Union, Ohio startup that will be releasing the 2nd edition of Arkwright, “you play through a few decades, and … Read more

Who was your favorite member of The Chordettes? For me it’s a toss-up between Janet Ertel and Jinny Lockard. But I think Jinny takes the cake. This has nothing to do with video games. However. They had a song (originally written by Pat Ballard), called Mr. Sandman. It was also played in a open-world/sandbox game called Fallout 3. WHAT? This is also Mr. Sandman. Man, fuck that “Dreamland Express” move in the SNES Punch-Out. Same approach in every game though, wait out the jabs, hook once, counter his next move, then do it all again. Meanwhile, Punch-Out’s main character … Read more

Ghost in the Shell: For me, it was a hash mark at the beginning of my descent into all things anime and introduced me to the word “cyberpunk.” It was at the top of all the “best anime movie” lists the internet had to offer, and it sat conveniently on the shelf of my local library. Dark and mysterious, the music and art were immediately captivating. The scene of Kusanagi’s short hair blowing in the wind as she looks down at the city below and her naked body methodically falling into it is one of the most hypnotic and iconic … Read more

Anybody who participates in a school extracurricular, or has a child who does, faces the same obligation: candy bar sales for fundraising. What do we do? We go door-to-door pleading our case for how beneficial it is that we play this sport or that instrument, right? Wrong. In reality, we send the box of candy bars to work with mom and dad, and they guilt their coworkers into paying four times the price of what you could get at the Kwik-E-Mart. James Garrett had a different idea: Stebbins CON. Rather than trying to convince a coworker that they should give the peanut bar … Read more

“Turn the page, wash your hands”. First off. I’m going to be sprinkling in pictures of LCS in the area. Try to identify them all! Don’t go cheating. Cheaters. Filthy. But seriously though, if you read comics already, feel free to avoid this one, put your head down and be quiet. Little lengthy, but once we’re done here you’ll feel more comfortable around comic shops, and less comfortable with me. I know what you’re thinking, right? He writes about comics too? Don’t let this button-up short sleeve shirt, smart watch, and cargo shorts fool you, I am indeed a well-rounded nerd. Mark … Read more

IN YOUR HANDS WITH FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Early May invokes different visions for different folks. Some are undoubtedly enchanted by the change in weather, shaking away the cold of winter, to awake refreshed and renewed as the foliage returns and April’s showers finally start to dry up. For me, the beginning of spring signifies another, more profound event: Free Comic Book Day. Free Comic Book Day (let’s call it FCBD) is the only day of the year when my geeky side and my frugal side—two forces which are typically mutually opposed—converge, and I can guiltlessly fill my pockets with … Read more

by Jason Young In this neoteric age, there are more ways than ever to read comics. You can find them in book form, at large retail chains and libraries. You can download digital files from the publishers (and from pirates). You honestly never have to set foot in a comic book shop for the rest of your life. But on Saturday, May 7th you totally should. Free comics. Possibly the two greatest words ever written in tandem. And we’re talking about actual comics. Tangible ones with two staples in them. And all you have to do is walk into any … Read more

The other day, I was discussing Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics with my good friend Art Mooney. Okay, so this is complete bullshit, and I really just wanted to quote The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, which was a comic book before it was a movie, to relate comic books, music, and the death of one of the greatest musician who has lived in this generation. Also, if you’ve never seen this film, I highly recommend it. Not Oscar-caliber by any means, but hilarious, and unbelievable! Ever since the ’60s, comic book companies began putting musicians into their books. The Fab 4 … Read more

If you missed this year’s GeekFest, you missed something pretty special. The venue, Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, was absolutely perfect for the event. For a little history on GeekFest, read Josher’s write up of his conversation with with Jason Heaton, the man responsible for this awesome event, here. For those of you who didn’t make it out, here’s a photo gallery of what you missed.

Steam’s second annual sale featuring anime/anime spinoff/Transformers(?) games is on now! Over 200 games ranging from Dragon Ball to Ghost in the Shell to whatever a “Hyperdimension Neptunia” is are all on sale this weekend. If you’re a fan of games, anime, or just getting a good deal, definitely go over and check it out by clicking the image. The sale ends Monday at 1 pm Eastern, so make your selections fast! A couple recommendations (to be taken with a grain of salt) would be: DANGANRONPA: TRIGGER HAPPY HAVOC – This game will make you fear the color pink. If a young … Read more

And FBI, Don’t you be watching me. Seriously though, one of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s nicknames was “Ol’ Dirty Chinese Restaurant.” Regardless, he raises a valid point in his song “Got Your Money.” No one wants to watch FMVs anymore. “Full Motion Videos.” Not to be confused with interactive movies. But confuse them together because I’m going to discuss both. Years ago, when I was a smaller bald bearded man, I was beside myself with excitement at the possibility of having my Playstation in my room on a 13-inch TV. Beside myself. Back then, having a game with spoken dialogue was … Read more

This Saturday is one of the most beloved days of the year for nerds like myself who deeply enjoy playing boardgames. That’s right, kids, it’s Geek & Sundry‘s International Tabletop Day, the third ever such holiday, which is brought to us by dreamboat celebrity game enthusiast Felicia Day and her pal Wil Wheaton. While most of us don’t need a special day to play boardgames, International Tabletop Day is special because there are events all over the country and tons of sales and deals on games everywhere. “It’s really good deals,” Allen Burkes, co-owner of Epic Loot Games and Comics, … Read more

As the bass from my next-door neighbor’s super loud techno reverberates everything in my house, drowning out any sound I would actually choose to hear, I often have to create white noise. Box fans on high, AC unit on even though it’s not needed, and thunderstorm videos on my beloved YouTube. I click around, trying to find something to drown out the annoyance when I stumble upon a treasure trove of old sci-fi movies. I click on one, watch for about fifteen minutes, and fall asleep. Eight hours later I awake to a completely different movie playing, with some vampire-looking creature … Read more

It’s a good week to be a nerd in Dayton. This Saturday, as GeekDayton will report later this week, is International Tabletop Day, and there will be gaming events all over the Miami Valley. Last Saturday was Glorycon at Wright State, and in the coming days, readers of GeekDayton can look forward to our podcast documenting the good time we had there, as well. But this Friday, there is another very special event going down in Dayton’s Geekosphere. This time it’s GeekFest at Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, a truly epic event that will surely be a blast for the whole … Read more

Hatsune Miku is a Japanese cultural phenomenon that’s spreading to the U.S. and beyond. She’s sold out huge arenas internationally, was featured on a remix by Pharrell Williams, and has topped the Japanese pop charts. Her upcoming tour features 10 cities in North America, she’s appeared in commercials for Toyota and Dominos, and in 2010, a Japanese space exploratory vessel bore three aluminum plates featuring her visage. It’s estimated by the Nomura Research Institute that all Miku-branded goods have sold, in total, over $1.5 billion dollars. Hell, she even performed for Letterman. She also doesn’t exist. Let me start over. Hatsune Miku … Read more

Hey, girl, hey. Snagged a grail of sorts at a local, little-known DYT gaming store. Super trendy retro place, only the cool kids shop there. You probably haven’t heard about it. I won’t tell you which one because you’ll show up with your suck and buy all the stuff I want. But like I was saying, a grail of sorts. At the same time, I managed to snag a sealed copy of Risen 3: Titan Lords for $5. Look lady, I played through the first two Risen games. I feel like if I don’t finish out the trilogy, I’ll be … Read more

By Jenner Lumpkin To own a collection of VHS tapes is to own a direct link to simpler times, without all the labor-intensive frustration of, say, a butter churn or an abacus. The contents are free of pretension and reveal an earnest delight on the part of the viewer. These are movies you watch. Movies you love. These aren’t kept in the grown-up entertainment center display case with the Criterion Collection Seven Samurai. These are worn-out copies of Real Genius with the fucked up length of magnetic tape at the beginning that you have to hand-turn when you don’t catch … Read more

Calling all gamers! This Saturday at Wright State University’s Student Union, the Wright State Adventurer’s Guild will be presenting Glorycon—a day for folks like yourself to gather and participate in the most glorious extracurricular hobby imaginable: gaming! For a mere 10 bucks (8, if you preregistrer), you too can participate in the festivities, which this year will include board games, video games, a Magic the Gathering tournament, RPGs, a Smash Bros tournament, panels, and lots more. “It’s basically a big gaming party,” says Glorycon promoter, Jacquelyn Bayham. For would-be miniature painters, looking to sharpen their skills, Glorycon will feature a mini-figure painting area. … Read more

If you’re reading this, you presumably already have a passing interest in photography. You may have gone to a convention and wished that you could have captured all the awesome cosplay. Or maybe you’re tired of all the bad cell phone selfies you’ve been taking of your totally sweet Admiral Ackbar costume. Maybe you just think you’d look cool as shit walking the floor of the next con with a camera around your neck. Regardless of the reason, you’ve decided to take a step toward taking bitchin’ photos of talented (or not-so-talented) cosplay artists. Which leads me to my first, and … Read more

Having put up with all the incessant cries from customers over the years, poking fun at not only my favorite Marvel character, but my favorite comic book character overall, I feel that now the tide is starting to turn. The first issue of the new Moon Knight series came out this week, written by famed Jeff Lemire, and penciled by Greg Smallwood. Customers came in today and were excited about picking it up, believing reviewers who say that it is actually worth reading. Of course it is! Marvel’s Moon Knight has risen from the depths usually inhabited by second-rate heroes, and … Read more

Probably one of the greatest crimes in the history of British television is the 1989 suspension of the longest-running science fiction television show to that date, Doctor Who. For years, Doctor Who’s ratings had declined steadily after the departure of the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, in 1984. The new Doctor, played by Colin Baker, was portrayed quite differently from previous incarnations. More snarky, angry, even violent at times, Baker tried to portray the Doctor as a true alien, one who’s motivations and personality were decidedly “unhuman” to viewers. Such was Baker’s full intention, as it was that of then executive … Read more

We talked for a second to Gem City Rollergirls Blitzkreig Becks, Medussa Shananigans, Zero Fox about Roller Derby and what it has in common with the “Geek” community. TRANSCRIPT GeekDayton: What’s your name? Blitzkreig Becks GD: And you? Medusa Shenanigans Zero Fox GD: Sweet, and why do you think roller derby is important to Dayton? It’s important to Dayton because… you know, like, Dayton’s the type of place that people kind of discredit a lot, and they think that it’s not that cool of a place, but, actually, we have a lot of great things going on here, and our … Read more

“I want to get into Dark Souls; I keep hearing about it,” you proudly announce. Terrific. We’re all real proud of you. A few notes before you blindly stumble into From Software’s little bundles of joy. These games aren’t designed in the way you’d expect. Sure, they’re hard. But they’re also relentless, frustrating, unfair, broken, ‘fucking stupid dumb gaaah! shit,’ and tricky. That’s where the real beauty of these games lie. It’s deceptive, infuriating, rewarding nature. When the first Demon Souls and Dark Souls came out, I was still slinging video games for the man. On the surface, they look … Read more

by Arick Mittler At what point does the history buff become a geek? I’d say a few days into a grueling hike through the woods, living on salt pork, hoping a dead tree limb doesn’t fall on you while you’re sleeping, and deciding you’re just going to do without the moccasins, instead of patching them 2 miles out from the falls, where they’re just going to get wet anyway. There’s more than a few of us who can’t think of anything more fun or nerdy than tracing Daniel Boone’s path through the Cain-tuck-ee backwoods, or storming the Bastille, or Normandy … Read more

Michael Watson (at Ren McKenzie’s table), of Hotshot and Freestyle Komics, answers obnoxious questions about diversity and race in comics, and hits the nail on the smacker. Watson also talks about new publisher, Legacy Rising, who will be publishing comics by Watson and McKenzie.

Disclaimer: the appreciation of this article will be greatly increased if this song is playing while it is being read. Also, this article won’t mention my thoughts on Hosoda’s two newest works, The Boy and the Beast or Wolf Children. Not because I don’t like them or they’re black sheep, I just haven’t seen them yet. However, they sit at 88% and 93% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, so I have faith that they’re pretty good. Mamoru Hosoda is an animator, director, and figurehead of underrated animation studio, Studio Chizu. He makes films. Not movies, not cartoons, but honest-to-god films on par with … Read more

“It’s about a 14 year old boy who thinks he’s the clone of Jesus Christ,” Dustin Carson explains his 5-issue comic series, No Gods. “He thinks the Government took the Shroud of Turin and got a blood sample, a dna sequence and cloned Jesus, and when he wakes up to a world of superheroes, some of which are being worshipped like gods, he sets out to destroy all of them, because there’s only supposed to be one God.” We talked to Carson at the 2016 Gem City Comic Con, where we ran around drinking beer and sticking a microphone … Read more

Jim Tramontana is a man of many talents. I first met him as the frontman for Dayton band, Red Hot Rebellion, who in 2014 released The Mission, a 13-track CD accompanied by a fat, full-color comic book explaining the backstory of the band. I talked to him at Gem City Comic Con, where he was promoting his most recent offering, a comic he authored called Vikings vs. Unicorns. Jim Tramonta: Vikings vs. Unicorns is the untold story of a band of vikings sworn to stave off a monstrous invasion—unicorns! The most evil scourge of all the universes that ever existed. … Read more

Ok look, VR. Flashes and pans. I can’t stress this enough, people. Here’s why you shouldn’t worry your pretty little faces about VR, or even try to find out more about it. I’m here for you. Virtual reality is nothing new to gaming. Ever since people have had cameras there have been two things, errrmmm…. one that we’re willing to discuss, and one that… look, don’t be gross. But more specifically, people have been interested in what virtual reality can do for entertainment. Not THAT entertainment. Well, yes that entertainment, but come on. *winks* Look up Sega VR. READ IT, NERDS. … Read more

YouTube is a pretty amazing place. It is, by far, my favorite thing about the internet. It has free old sci-fi movies, MST3K episodes, ASMR, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, tons of music, people falling down and one of my all time favorite subjects: supernatural creature videos. Usually of poor quality and from an undisclosed foreign country, supernatural creature videos feature Ghosts, Nightcrawlers, Bigfoot, Zombies, Ghouls, Gnomes, and plenty of unidentifiable creatures. They are all out there, and there have been a few lucky people who have caught them on tape. I have wasted the bulk of many a Saturday watching … Read more

Like most of my app game decisions, downloading Neko Atsume was based on two things. It had cats, and it was adorable. As a long time lover of both cats and things like Hello Kitty, I didn’t waste another second, and downloaded immediately. Neko Astume translates as “Kitty Collector,” and that is the main objective of this game. Things you can do in the game include: filling the food bowl, taking photos of any cat present in your yard, and buying food or “goodies.” As cats visit you, they appear in your cat book with their stats. These cat visits will … Read more

I began collecting vinyl about five years ago. Early enough that I don’t consider myself a part of the hipster movement, but not long enough that I’ve been holding on to a relic until it’s come back into fashion. (Superhero t-shirts on the other hand…let’s just say I’m happy Marvel Studios has been an enormous success.) I’m no audiophile either, but I know good sound when I hear it. Well, there was a brief Crazy Town phase I went through, but that was a dark time in my life. Back off! Suffice to say I’m confident I can convince you of the virtues of vinyl. Let’s … Read more

“What if you found a portal to a parallel universe? What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds… where it’s the same year and you’re the same person but everything else is different. And what if you can’t find your way home?” Danht dahnt dahnt. Dahnt dahnt dahnt. What if there was this great, fun show in the heart of your formative years wherein a mismatched group of adventurers travel through wormholes to explore different dimensions of Earth? Wait. That is something you don’t have to wonder about. It happened. Well, to me anyway. In this dimension even. “Theorizing that one … Read more

I get it, you’re worried. One of your favorite flicks just got the dreaded “R-word” treatment, and all the leaked details seem to point toward certain doom when something even worse is revealed: the cast. They cast him? Really? And her? No. Please no. That’ll never work. Now, your fears may be entirely valid, and may be looked back on as honest prophecy (Fant4stic), but here’s a secret, everybody: it might work. There is a chance. Please have some faith, or at least withhold judgement until you’ve y’know, actually seen it. I’m going to try and assuage your worries. Of course, this is in reference to … Read more

Hello dear readers, how are you? How’s that thing you were worried about? That all work out? Great. So anyway, Gamestop has used Nintendo DS Lite on sale for $19.99. We’re closing in on its 10th anniversary of when it launched at $129.99. You know, $100-off kind of sale (yes, I know that’s not how business works. Thanks, judgey). Is this the new standard for retro gaming? A massive discount on mostly everything, except a handful of games? The systems themselves are dirt cheap, while a handful of games remain even more expensive than the launch prices?Wait….. okay, no… that’s … Read more

Things just aren’t going well for Kimihiro Watanuki. Harassed constantly by spirits, the eccentric, orphaned high-schooler is out of his mind with fear. On one particularly shitty afternoon, he is running from the spirits when he stumbles into the shop of Yūko Ichihara, a sexy, alcoholic, space-time dimensional witch, who will happily rid Watanuki of his torment… for a price. You see, coincidence does not exist. There is only the inevitable. At least that’s what Yūko would have you believe. Watanuki, for one, chooses to believe her drunk ass. And that’s the first two minutes of the first episode of … Read more

In The Boy and the Beast, Mamoru Hosoda tries his best to grab Miyasaki by the testicles and claim his throne as the rightful King of Anime. But he doesn’t quite get to take his seat there yet. Despite the flashy, eye-catching animation, somewhat interesting characters, and an engaging story, Beast misses the mark compared to Hosoda’s earlier films. The Boy and the Beast starts off with disgruntled nine-year-old Ren walking the crowded streets of Shibuya pissed as all hell. Bereaved of his mother, and with his father nowhere in sight, he grits his teeth, clenches his fists and thinks, “I hate … Read more

So, you’ve decided you want to delve into the hobby of model kit building. When first choosing a model kit, you may find that making the decision of which kit to buy is a bit daunting. While the hobby may not be as prolific as it was, say, in the 90’s, there are still a plethora of options available. So, how do you choose which one to buy? Let’s consider a few variables. 1: COST This will often be the most influential factor when choosing a kit to buy, especially for someone new to the hobby. You’ll find there are primarily … Read more

This is my first entry in what I plan to be a long line of blog posts relating to Polaroid photography. When was the last time you flipped through photos and reminisced? Not swiping through the countless snapshots on your phone or tablet but actual, physical photographs? I’m willing to bet that many of you never have. Others of you may have done it a decade ago but have been seduced by the convenience of digital media. There has been recent urging from people far more intelligent than me to print your digital photographs. There are a number of pragmatic … Read more